Zane la
by ZaneorFang
Summary: Zane leaned closer, his face centimeters from hers. Her dark eyes gave nothing away, yet as he looked into their depths he thought he saw something spark.


**A/N: **This is pretty much part of Specials except it's from Zane's POV. Oneshot. I do not own the Uglies series.

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><p>"But that doesn't mean..." Tally whispered, her eyelids snapping open.<p>

Zane leaned closer, his face centimeters from hers. Her dark eyes gave nothing away, yet as he looked into their depths he thought he saw something spark. Then her lips were on his, warm and fierce.

He felt complete for the first time in ages. The emptiness that had filled him since he'd last seen her evaporated, giving way to inexplicable joy. Her hands snaked inside his clothes, clutching him so tight his breath caught. He'd felt so lonely these past weeks. Sure, there were the Crims, but they weren't anything like Tally. She was so beautiful, so brave, so amazing. He loved her, loved her so much it _hurt_.

Bringing his hand up he gently brushed her cheek, the skin soft despite her cruelly gorgeous features. Tally tried to pull away but he gripped her tighter, desperately not wanting the kiss to end. She broke away, glaring at his pale, shaky fingers.

"Tally wait," Zane said "We can—" he cried out as pain shot up his hands, and he let her go.

She rolled and jumped to her feet, sprinting down the ledge a ways before falling onto one knee, her stomach heaving.

"Tally!" he called, going after her.

"Don't!" she raised one hand, not looking at him.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Does it _look _like I'm okay?" she spat at him, and then more gently, "I just can't, Zane."

She got up and ran towards the cliff, never slowing down, and leaped off. Zane rushed to the edge and scanned the surface for her. His bloody hands stung, but nowhere near as much as his heart did. What did he do? Could she really not love him just because he _shook a little? _

After several minutes he finally gave up and went back to camp, feeling like he'd been stabbed in the chest, blood streaming from a wound only Tally could close.

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><p>After that, the journey seemed to take forever.<p>

The long nights of traveling were hard on Zane, though he'd never admit it. But it was fairly easy to see just slow his reflexes were and how quickly he tired. The other Crims kept asking him if he was okay, if they should slow down to make it easier for him, if he needed to stop and rest. It was maddening. No way would he have them delay because of him. The sooner they got to the New Smoke the better.

He wondered how Tally felt about him now. Could she really be that disgusted by him? She had proved she could think her way out of being a bubblehead, he was sure she could think her way out of being specialminded too. Or could she? Maybe they altered Specials brains in such a way they couldn't think their way out. But Tally had started rewiring herself: she'd stopped cutting, she was disobeying orders. So it must be possible. But how long would it take? He wanted to be with her so badly... If he got himself fixed so he was no longer all shaky, if he got all his reflexes back, maybe even better than they had been before, would she be able to stand him?

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><p>After a fortnight the Crims came to a halt on a cliff that jutted out high above the ocean. They jumped off their boards and congregated around Zane, looking down at the position finder in his hands.<p>

"So we're supposed to wait here for them to pick us up?" one of the girls said.

Zane nodded.

"But what if no one comes?"

"They'll come." Zane answered, trying to sound sure of himself.

"How long?"

"I don't know, but there's nothing else we can do." which was true, even if he wished it wasn't.

The rest of the Crims dispersed, going about cooking meals and worrying about the water supply. For a few seconds Zane could only stare at the position finder. They were so close. The closer they got to the New Smoke, the closer he got to getting back with Tally.

Her absence gnawed at him constantly, the pain in his chest increasing with each passing day. He didn't think he'd be able to stand it much longer. He kept scanning the woods, hoping to catch at least the smallest glimpse of her, the faintest sign she hadn't abandoned him...

Stay bubbly, he told himself. Always bubbly. Don't let the real emotions show.

He sighed then went to help set up camp, putting the position finder back in his pocket. He'd be with her soon, he promised himself. This _was_ Tallyafter all. She'd find a way to rewire herself.

And maybe he could help her along the way.

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><p>The next morning the Crims were woken by a thundering roar. They jumped out of their sleeping bags and began to furl their boards as a huge rusty machine hovered overhead.<p>

As the ancient-looking vehicle landed, another group of runaways came up to the cliff. There were two villagers, along with some pretties who must have been from some other city. Zane wasn't paying much attention to them, but he saw a couple of the Crims shake their heads at the newcomers fashion-missing clothes and odd accents.

The two groups eyed each other wearily as a couple pretties who were from yet another city hopped out of the—whatever that machine was called. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Zane thought he should know the name of it, but he seriously could care less.

Everyone glanced at each other awkwardly, hoping someone else would start speaking. The Crims eyes locked on Zane. He _was_ their leader, crippled or not.

"I'm Zane," he offered, brushing his dark hair out of his face, "And this is Peris." He went around introducing each of the Crims by name, talking loudly to be heard above the roar of the blades.

The villagers still looked suspicious, so Zane pulled the position finder out of his pocket. They immediately took scanning wands and waved them around the Crims, making sure to check their teeth.

Satisfied, they stepped back and gestured for everyone to get into the vehicle.

The runaways looked at the machine nervously, not sure if it could carry them all. But the drivers, or rather, Rangers as they called themselves, weren't worried.

"It's called a helicopter," they explained, "it's perfectly safe. The Rusties used them all the time."

"Oh yeah, _that's_ comforting." a Crim said sarcastically.

The Rangers just laughed. "Don't worry, It's never broken on us. Not _yet_, anyway."

Somewhat reluctantly the other pretties and the Crims piled inside the helicopter. Zane paused in the doorway, looking back over his shoulder, before getting swept inside by the flow of runaways.

The villagers stepped back and waved, smiling as the vehicle took off, blades pounding the sky mercilessly.

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><p>It was crowded inside the helicopter, and the stuffy air smelled like unwashed bodies. Which wasn't exactly surprising, but it still made the journey rather uncomfortable. Everyone was fidgeting excitedly, straining for a turn looking out the windows. There wasn't much conversation.<p>

Finally someone asked the question they'd all been thinking: "Where are we heading? I mean, where is the New Smoke exactly?"

The Rangers grinned. "Diego," one said, "We're going to the city of Diego."

The runaways just sat there in stunned silence.

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><p>After about an hour the city of Diego spread out beneath them. The helicopter landed and the runaways rushed out, giddy with joy. They crowded around the Rangers, trying to figure out whose hoverboard was whose. Zane waited patiently, feeling better then he'd felt since they'd escaped the city. A few of the Crims clustered around him, slapping him on the back and congratulating each other. One of them brought Zane his board, and they all headed towards the hospital.<p>

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><p>"I need you to fix me." Zane said desperately. The doctor looked up at him. "No more shakes, or lapses in cognition." he continued, his golden eyes bright and intense.<p>

"We can do that," the doctor nodded.

"And I'd like the highest physical control upgrade you can do." Zane added, holding the doctors gaze unflinchingly.

The doctor frowned. "It's risky, you know that right? We need informed consent. If anything goes wrong, it will most likely be fatal."

"I understand," Zane said, his mind whirring. If he lived through it, he be able to be with Tally. There were no words that could explain how much he missed her. Even dying would be better then living without Tally Youngblood.

The doctor handed him the form and a pen. "Are you absolutely sure about this? It's only about a fifty-fifty chance you'll survive." Zane took the pen and shakily signed the form.

"Alright," he said. "Now do it."

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><p><strong>AN: **Please Review!**  
><strong>


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